


Night Off

by jessonthecoast



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Photographer Tim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9784298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessonthecoast/pseuds/jessonthecoast
Summary: Finally Tim gets a night off, no bats to bother him. Oh wait, no just kidding. Jason's there to harass him, per usual. Never a proper night off with that boy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Angela (@eclecticxdetour) for putting up with me and my nonsense.

Tim never thought he’d see the day where Bruce gave him the night off, but he has, and Tim isn’t complaining. Bruce assured him that if he needs backup, he'll be sure to call. Tim is doubtful that he'll call, but still he keeps his earpiece in, listening to the intermittent chatter. He's working on his homework when he looks over at his camera bag hung in its usual place, collecting dust. It's been a minute since he went out and photographed anything for pleasure. Textbooks shut, Tim slips on his shoes and a hoodie, straps on his camera bag, and heads out.

There's a chilly bite in the air. The nights are cooling down faster than he'd like, but if he keeps moving, he'll barely feel it. He starts with simple shots: lengthy cracks in the sidewalks, houses lined up next to each other for blocks and blocks, the bright yellow lines in the road.

There's a crackling sound in his earpiece so he lowers his camera and listens in. After a few minutes of silence, Tim wonders if it was one of the guys taking out their headpiece. He begins wandering again, looking down alleys for good angles while absentmindedly listening for anyone asking for help. He strolls down one alley, raising his camera for a shot of dumpsters lining the alley and the dingy, white lines of clothing zigzagging up the buildings, liking the symmetry to the shot. At the end of the alley, there's a person getting out of a taxi. The tailpipe puffs out smoke, and Tim focuses on that, the airy cloud of exhaust pumping out of the car. He coughs after it speeds off, accidentally inhaling too many fumes.

He crosses the street and sees a rusted metal staircase pulled up tight. Looking around for any voyeurs, Tim jumps up and pulls the stairs down with a clang. He takes them two at time until he's on top of the roof. He snaps a few photos of the street lamp-lit city, wishing that he could also take a soundbite with the photo.

Tim raises his camera once more, taking a few more shots before deciding that this isn't the angle he wants. He tucks his camera in his bag and walks to one side of the rooftop. Fixing his eyes on the adjacent building, Tim takes off running. There's a hiss from his comms and Tim comes to a stop, rocks flying away from him. Tim taps the earpiece with two fingers. "Red Robin."

Silence.

More nothing.

Tim shakes his head and he walks back to the edge of the building. He sprints and jumps off the ledge, arms outstretched, and easily catches the balcony railing. Pulling himself up, he leaps up to the next one, and the next, until he's latched onto the concrete edge and finally hauls himself up to the rooftop. "Should've brought my gear," Tim says quietly.

Tim surveys the view, deciding that he's still not high enough. He gets a good running start and leaps off the roof to the next building, jumping higher and higher. His camera bag jostles against his back, but its padded bag protects the lens and the hardware that's inside. Tim has his eyes set high on a rooftop that's two buildings away now. He jumps off the edge and in the air, he sees that he didn't get nearly the height that he wanted. He bounces off the first balcony to catch the one just below him with one hand, arm feeling like it’s being pulled out of its socket.

Swearing, Tim swings his other arm up and grabs hold of the balcony. His comms sound in his ear again.

“Maybe don’t bite off more than you can chew, baby bird.”

Tim hangs his head, closing his eyes and sighing. “How long have you been listening?”

“Not too long.”

“Since I left home?” Tim asks, pulling himself up over the railing and jumping up to the next one.

“Maybe. Might also been watching you, too,” says Jason, flipping through the cameras he’s hacked into for the simple reason of spying on Tim.

“Stalker.”

“Who’s calling who a stalker, Timothy?”

“Jason, I thought you were on a stakeout,” Tim says, reaching for the railing above him and jumping for it. He barely reaches it and the camera bag smacks him in the back.

Jason laughs. “I’m multitasking. I thought you were given the night off, superhero.”

“I was. This is how I spend my nights off,” Tim says, dryly.

“They look very much like your working nights. Y’know, where you fall off shit and onto your ass.”

Finally, on the rooftop Tim lets out a huff of air. “Thank you for your concern, Jason. You can go now.”

“Why would I do that? This is the most entertainment I’ve had all night,” Jason sighs. “Besides, it looks like you’ve still got… one more to go. Get a move on.”

Tim can hear the chair creaking under Jason in his earpiece.

“I could  _ turn off _ the earpiece,” Tim mumbles, leaning over and pushing his foot back into the rooftop gravel.

“You would never.”

“Try me,” Tim warns. Jason says nothing and Tim sprints off the roof, catching the metal railing across the way. It creaks and starts bending under Tim’s weight. His eyes go wide and Tim springs up to the next balcony before he falls. He watches the metal rod clang down the building and onto the concrete with a bang.

“Oh, you should’ve saved that,” Jason says, watching Tim lean over the edge and make a face as the rod clatters to the ground. “You know how Dickie Bird likes to fight with his little sticks.”

“Not as little as yours,” Tim laughs.

“Hey! You know that’s a damn lie.”

Tim keeps laughing until he’s wiping a small tear from his eyes. He pulls his camera out of his bag and slips the strap around his neck. He wants to keep taking pictures, but he’s still very aware of Jason’s presence. “Um, Jay?”

“Hm?”

“Could you, um...” Tim pauses, biting his lip nervously and rubbing the shutter on his camera. He’s not one to enjoy having a crowd when he’s taking pictures. He prefers the intimacy of him and his camera. And the silence, especially, whereas now he is hyper aware of Jason’s quiet, even breathing in his earpiece.

“What? You’re not taking a piss, you’re taking pics. Besides I’ve seen and sucked your dick, so what’s the difference now.” Jason tabs over to a camera that Tim is facing, zooming in and watching him. At this point, if Tim could make himself any smaller, he wouldn’t exist. Jason swallows. “Sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

Tim takes a deep breath in and raises his camera up, exhaling slowly as he adjusts the focus. Through his lens, he sees the city he’s known for as long as he can remember. It’s a broken city, a city where murder happens daily and brutally so. A city where filth creeps up from the sewers and the cracks in the sidewalks. A city where too many kids are orphaned by monsters. A city blackened by villains that seem impossible to stop. But through his lens, he sees the lights of the skyscrapers. He sees all the people busy at work, doing their jobs through the night. He sees lights of the street lamps guiding his way home. He sees the thousands of stars shining through the pitch-black night sky. He sees  _ his  _ city.

Jason watches Tim closely. Even with the shitty camera he’s hacked into he can see Tim barely breathing. He can see Tim’s hesitancy running through him all the way into Tim’s hovering pointer finger. Jason can see the vulnerable state that Tim is in, only being able to see what’s in the lens and not what is going on in his peripheral. There’s a part of Jason that feels like he’s invaded Tim’s space somehow, like he’s interrupted Tim in the middle of something he shouldn’t see. But at the same time, he feels like he needs to keep watching – unable to tear his eyes away at this point – because in a way, he has Tim’s back. He can protect him this way.

Tim snaps a few photos and takes a deep breath in. He smiles at the silence on the other end. 

“Hey Jay? You can breathe now.”

“I was breathing,” Jason lies. “I was doing it quietly so it wasn’t distracting the artist at work.”

Tim’s smile grows and he shakes his head. “So how’s the stakeout going, then?”

“It’s boring as hell.”

“Want company?”

“If you want to stop by, I won’t say no. I’ll shoot you the address—”

“Already have it.” At Jason’s silence, Tim laughs. “What kind of detective would I be if I didn’t already know where you were?”

“Who’s the stalker now?”

“Still you, Jay.”

“Bring your camera. I’ll model for you, Timmy.”

“Your face might break my camera.”

“Yeah, because it’s never seen something so beautiful.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Jason.”

 


End file.
